Open AccessDEVELOPMENT OF A FUEL-ELEMENT LEAK-DETECTION SYSTEM BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF ISOTOPIC EXCHANGE
Author(s) -
J.E. Howes,
T.S. Elleman,
D.N. Sunderman
Publication year - 1960
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4171215
Subject(s) - halide , fission , fission products , chemistry , radiochemistry , bromide , iodide , nuclear fission product , neutron activation , neutron , analytical chemistry (journal) , nuclear physics , inorganic chemistry , chromatography , physics
The selective removal of halide fission products from an aqueous solution by exchange with the halide in a solid silver halide was studied as the basis for a fuel-element leak detector. The retention of fission-product halides on a silver halide column was investigated as a function of coolant flow rate, halide anion, and column size. Fission prcduct decontamination factors and predicted operating lifetimes were obtained for a number of reactor operating conditions. It is concluded that a sensitive, rapid leak detector for a water- cooled reactor could be constructed from a silver bromide or iodide column monitored by a neutron detector to detect delayed neutrons from the halide fission products. The feasibility of gross gamma monitoring was found to be dependent upon the intensity of the gamma background arising from absorbed fission products on the silver halide column. (auth